Railroad cross-tie.



E. S. BROOKS.

RAILROAD CROSS TIE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1, I9Ie.

1,227,036. PIenIed May 22, 1917. y

UNTTED sTATEs APATENT OFFICE.

EMERSON S. BROOKS, OF'MORGANTOWN, NORTH CAROLINA.

. nAiLnomn cnoss-TIE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMERSON S. BROOKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Morgantown, in the county of Burke and State of North Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railroad Cross- Ties, of which the following is a specification. Y

This invention relates to improvements in railroadcross ties, and one ofits objects is' to provide a combination cast or pressed metal and wood tiev rwhich embodies the strength, durability and inaleconomy of a metallic body with the resiliency or cushioning action and spike holding properties ofy a wooden base support, thus producing a tie which combines these and other substanv tial advantages in a unitary structure.

A further object vof thefinvention is to provide a tieconsisting of a hollow metallic body inclosing at its ends wooden fillers which form backings for the rail supporting surfaces of the body, and lin the production of which good portions of discarded wooden ties and other refuseor cheap wood blocks may be` employed with resultantkeconomy, the casing being adapted for the use of ordinary spikes for securing rthe rails, which spikes are driven'into the'fillers soq that the superior holding qualities of spikes embedded in wood maybe obtained, so that the use of bolts and nuts or other fastenings all liability ofithespreadingofparts therei of, as is. liable to happenwith pressed or stamped ties, whichV is constructed to permit drainage OEk of the' water; and which is adapted for the ready .and convenient removal oflold wooden fillings and the insertion of new i Ones when required without removal Vofv thef tie from the rail bed or otherwise disturbing its position. l A still further/Object of to provide ,a vconstruction of metallic tie body or casing which will to a large measure protectthe wooden fillings from moisture,

and which obviates the necessity of employ- Specification of Letters Patent.

the invention is ing other fillings by so constructing the same as to receive a portion of the ballasting material, which may be readilyand conveniently removed whenever it is desired to remove the tie from the rail bed or to apply new llers. ,f K

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the features of construction and combination and arrangement of parts .more fully described hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which---v n Figure l is a top plan view of 'a railte embodying my invention and showing the same in position in a road bed; l

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the tie; y

Fig. 3 is a central vertical section thereof; Fig. 4'is `a perspective view of the tie bodyl or casing with the fillers removed, parts being broken 'away to clearly. show the internal construction;

Fig-5 is 'a `fragmentary longitudinal section showinga slightly modified 'form of construction; and Y p v l Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section through the form' of tie Vshown in Fig.'5. p Referring to the drawings, 1v designates the body or casing of thegtie'which is of Oblong rectangular form and substantially casingis formed of cast metal, preferably Patented May 22, 1917. Application lled September 7, 1916. Serial No. 118,886. i

of'castor pressedsteel, and comprises a bottom'wall 2, side walls 3 and a top wall composed of end sections 4, the top of the body or casing being entirely open between the innery edges of the wall ksections 4 and from side to side thereof, as-indicated at 5.

The'bottom wall 2 and sidewalls 3 of the body or casingare continuous from end to end of the tie, and form with the top wall sections 4 end chambers, casings or sockets'to receive fillers 7 which snu ly fit therein, which fillers are composed of locks of a suitable hard and durable wood which may be treated or not with any 4suitable presiervativek substance, such as' creosote, tar or zinc chlorid, as desired.

, 'The fillers 7 underlie and forml base supports for the top plates 4'which constitute seats for the base flanges Of'therails 8,

whichrails are securedV to the tie by means of 'spikes 9 of ordinary construction which are driven downward through openings 10in said plates 4 into the wooden fillers 7 whereby the rails are firmly and securely fastened in position. It will be understood that the wooden fillers not only serve to fill and thereby strengthen and reinforce the portions of the tie on which the rails are laid but also provide a cushioning base giving' a desired degree of resiliency, and further serve as anchors for the spikes whereby the firm holding qualities of spikes embedded in wood are obtained and the use of bolts and nuts or other fastening devices which are liable to work loose entirely avoided. The construction described also enables the usual tie plates to be dispensed with, but these may be employed and spiked to the ties with the rails if desired.

The space within the tie body or casing between the inner ends of the iiller blocks 7 forms a chamber for the reception of a portion of the ballasting material 1l, which serves to properly weight the tie and anchor it firmly in the road bed. By reason of the fact that the top opening 5 extends fully across the tie, it will be evident that the ballasting material may be readily and conveniently removed or otherwise filled into or removed from the tie, whereby the use of permanent fillings forming a part of the tie is dispensed with, providing a lighter tie for greater convenience in transportation and handling, while at the same time enabling the ordinary ballasting material to be employed at the time of use to fill the unoccupied portion of the tie body and anchor it securely in place in the road bed.

The filler chambers 6 are separated from the central ballast receiving chamber ll by Vvertical transverse partitions l2 cast with the tie body and which serve to reinforce and strengthen the tie as awhole and further serve as abutments against which the inner ends of the fillers 7 bear to limit the inward movement of said fillers. By this means the fillers may be accurately positioned when inserted and held from inward shifting movements under certain outward pressures or strains upon the rails which are transferred to the spikes with atendency to force the filler blocks inwardly and to cause play and loosening of the spikes, the iller blocks being thus fixed from such shifting movements and loosening of the spikes under the pressures or strains mentioned entirely avoided and prevented. These partitions l2 are provided with openings 13 through which the ends of the filler blocks 7 are exposed, thus allowing tools to be inserted through the opening 5, upon removal of a portion of the ballast, for the y purpose of driving out a iiller block which has decayed or otherwise become unfit for use, thus obviating the necessity of disturbing the tie in any manner for this purpose.

rihe lower portions of the partitions 12 furthermore serve in conjunction with the lower portions of the bottom and side walls vbe collected and allowed to to form a drain basin at the bottom of the chamber 1l in which any moisture passing downward through the contained ballasting material or otherwise taken into the tie will drain out through drain openings la formed in the central portion of the bottom wall 2 and of which any desired number and arrangement may be employed. Preferably a number of drain openings are used and disposed centrally of the chamber, the bottom wall of which is curved or dished in a transverse direction to facilitate the iiow of the moisture to the drainage openings. By means of this basin and the protection afforded by the partitions to the lower portions of` the inner ends of the filler blocks, whereby the moisture is kept out of direct contact with the blocks, it will be evident that liability of rotting of the filler blocks will be reduced and the life and durability of said blocks prolonged. Y y

In the modified form of my invention shown in Figs. 5 and G, the partitions l2 are in the form of comparatively short vertical walls which extend upward from the tie bottom and across between the side walls of the tie body and are integral with the walls, the projections extending upward to a sufficient height to leave an opening above for the exposure of-thc inner ends of the fillers for a driving out action, and also to form a collecting basin. at the base of the chamber, ll as previously described with reference to the construction shown in Figs. l to 4, inclusive.

ln the use of the tie, it will, of course, be understood that the filler blocks may be applied before or at the time of use, and that when the tie and rails are laid in position the spikes are driven in an obvious manner to fasten the rails in place, the tie being partially embedded in the road bed and also held down by the weight of the central filling of ballast,by means of which the tie will be held in place in a firm and secure manner. The tie thus constructed and arranged will support the rails with a desired degree of resilient play under the weight of rolling stock, and owing' to the rigidity of vconstruction of its walls will maintain its shape and the fixed relationship of its parts against all pressures and strains falling thereon from the rails. If it should be necessary at any time to remove either one or both fillers, this may be done by simply withdrawing the spikes and then driving the fillers out by means of tools employed through the opening 5 and chamberl ll, and new fillers may be thereupon inserted in their place, entirely without the necessity of removing or disturbing the position of the tie or of anything except a portion of the ballasting material contained in the central chamber, the conveniences and llU advantages of which will be readily understood. In making the wooden iillers 7 periect portions of otherwise imperfect ties or other wood blocks of similar dimensions may be employed, thus enabling waste material to be used with great economy. The tie being entirely rigid throughout when in use, except as to the slight resiliency afforded to the walls 4 by the wooden blocks, it will be evident that the parts of the tie cannot become pressed out of shape or otherwise injuredby the weight or pressure of rolling stock in such a way as to loosen the blocks and rail fastenings, as is liable to occur with pressedy or stamped ties having joints or composed of a plurality of sections.

I claim as my invention:

l. A railway tie comprisinga hollow oblong rectangular body having a central chamber and end chambers, said central chamberv being open at its top and in communication with-the end chambers and said end chambers being provided with spike receiving openings in their top walls, and wooden llers within the end `chambers arranged to be engaged by the spikes driven through said openings.

, 2. A railway tie comprising a hollow oblong rectangular body open at each end and having a centralballast receiving chamber and end filler Areceiving chambers, said centralchamber being open at its top and said end chambers being provided with top walls forming rail supporting seats and having spike receiving openings therein,l said end chambers'being in open communication at the top with the central chamber and separatedv at the bottom therefromk by vertical transverse partitions Jforming abutment walls, and wooden iillers within the end chambers-and abutting at their inner ends against said partitions.

3. A railway tie comprising'a hollow oblong rectangular body open at each end and having a central ballast receiving chamber and end filler receiving chambersysaid central chamber being open at its top and said en d chambers being provided with top walls Copies of this patent base of said central chamber, the bottom c wall of the said central chamber being provided with drain outlets for the discharge of water from said basin, and wooden llers within the end chambers and abutting at their inner ends against said partitions.

4. A railway tie comprising a cast hollow oblong rectangular body open at each end, said body comprising continuous bottom and side walls and having top wall sections at the ends thereof forming rail supports, said top wall sections being separated by an intermediate opening extending the full width of the tie, the said top plate sections forming with the adjacent portions of the walls of the body end receiving chambers, and.

partitions integral with the bottom and side walls of the body at the inner ends of said chambers and forming a central chamber for the reception of ballasting material, said partitions being arranged to leave openings above the same at the inner ends of the end chambers, and filler blocks within the end chambers and abutting against said partitions and exposed in part within the central chamber.

5. A cast metal tie comprising a hollow oblong rectangular body having continuous bottom and side walls, end topwall sections provided with spike openings and spaced to leave an intermediate opening at the center of the tie extending the full width thereof, and forming end chambers and a central chamber, 'and partitions between the central and end chambers integral with and extending fully between the bottom and side walls of the tie body.

In testimony whereof I alix my signature in presence of a witness.

EMERSON S. BROOKS. Witness:

BENNETT S. JoNns.

may beobtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

